Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Early this
year I did some financial planning and was thrilled to discover I will be able
to retire on time. Up until then I was
hopeful about that, but not certain. Now
I am certain. In fact, I have an actual
retirement date.

August 31, 2029.

Thirteen
years from today!

Soft and pretty pink chenille pillow

Quilted throw pillow

Thirteen
years may seem like a long time yet, to some, but I happen to know just how
quickly that time will pass. You see, my
youngest will be 13 on her next birthday and I feel like it was only yesterday
she was this cute little baby. It goes
by really, really fast!

Pretty handmade doilies with vintage buttons

I could
retire at age 62, if I choose, but financially it makes more sense, as long as
my health holds out, to wait until I'm 65.
Mainly it is because of health insurance. My employer provides health insurance for me
and if I retire at 62 I will not be Medicare eligible yet. Rather than pay for private insurance it
makes more sense for me to keep working and keep my health benefits while
further padding my retirement accounts.

Love these lamps!

My first piece of furniture - acquired and redone

I have a lot
of plans and many goals to accomplish between now and then. I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but I
have a lot of lists written out to
help get me their too. Some of those
items are checked off and others are waiting to be. I have been plenty busy working on those
things too.

Love this rooster tea towel. Super fun project.

I named him Roger

My plan is
to eliminate debt and build up my savings account so I will be ready to
purchase a house in the next three years.
Then I will be working to pay that house off in ten years, before I
retire. The house I currently own will
then go up for sale and the proceeds of that sale will be rolled into my savings
to further pad my retirement funds.

Pillowcases

...more pillowcases

... and more pillowcases

In the
meantime I have a monthly budget set up to work on smaller projects to help me
furnish and set up my future home. You’ve
already seen quite a bit of what I've been working on. It has been super fun and keeps me motivated.

Once the
house is purchased I will be working on it to get it retirement ready. Updates, painting, furnishings, whatever it
needs to make a comfortable home for an active retired lady. I'm sure there will be a whole new set of
lists to help me make sure it all goes according to plan.

A warm and cozy quilt

Another in the works

I am really
excited for my future and I hope and pray it all works as I hope it does. Not always do things go according to plan but
I'm hopeful and optimistic. Of course,
whatever is meant to be will be as I know I am bound by His plan and not
necessarily my own. And that will be
okay too.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

This month was another big stock up month for me. I stocked up the pantry, added more meat items
to the freezer and bought lunchmeat, bread, chips and other items for school
lunches. I took advantage of a lot of
sales, loss leader items, coupons and scoured the markdown bins to keep my
spending as low as possible.

Produce and dairy made up the remainder of my shopping and as you
can see I bought a lot of produce this month.
Fresh fruits and veggies just taste good this time of year when the heat
is on. We enjoyed a lot of salads and
veggies with homemade dips and dressings.

Needless to say I went way over my $150.oo budget, nearly twice my
budget, and perhaps I should feel a little bad about it, but I really
don't. I got so many great buys and now
that we are well stocked for winter I will have no worries, especially when the
heat bills sky rocket and any extra money to put towards them will be greatly
appreciated.

Stock up items from the dollar store

My non-food items included cat litter, facial tissues, a few toiletries and four
bottles of laundry detergent. I purchased the detergent on sale and with coupons paid just $1.00 apiece for them! I only spent $20.57 of my $25.00 budget.

So here is the list of food I bought. The items highlighted in red are my stock up
items: